


bellyache

by clizziem



Series: Don't Smile at Me [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blink and you'll miss the Billie Eilish references, Gaang (Avatar), Gen, Good Azula (Avatar), Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Pre-Relationship, Protective Azula (Avatar), references to injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:48:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28378743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clizziem/pseuds/clizziem
Summary: The sun casts long and slender shadows over the street and the smoke cloud from Zuko’s lips floats like a cloud before vanishing in the summer air. Zuko stares at where the cloud had just been and sighs. If he manages to get to Uncle at some point tonight, he’ll be disappointed to smell the cigarette smoke on his clothes and breath. Zuko can’t bring himself to care.“Shouldn’t you be gone by now?” Azula’s voice airly. He doesn’t turn around. Not like his ribs would let him anyway.Zuko's been kicked out and there's a race against time to get him out of his house.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Don't Smile at Me [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2079291
Comments: 9
Kudos: 447





	bellyache

**Author's Note:**

> I've been listening to too much Billie Eilish and this happened when I read the lyrics to bellyache.  
> Maybe some tearbending. Maybe have a tissue handy.

The sun casts long and slender shadows over the street and the smoke cloud from Zuko’s lips floats like a cloud before vanishing in the summer air. Zuko stares at where the cloud had just been and sighs. If he manages to get to Uncle at some point tonight, he’ll be disappointed to smell the cigarette smoke on his clothes and breath. Zuko can’t bring himself to care.

“Shouldn’t you be gone by now?” Azula’s voice airly. He doesn’t turn around. Not like his ribs would let him anyway.

“They must be running late,” He says and puts the cigarette out on the ground.

“Or they aren’t coming,” Azula says. He still doesn’t turn around. It stings more than he wants to admit that apparently texting just the word  _ help  _ to Katara isn’t enough to summon them. Azula sighs and he hears her heels click on the driveway as she approaches him to sit down on his right.

“You sure you don’t want me to call Iroh?” She asks and rummages in her pocket for a packet of gum. She pulls out a stick and offers it to him. Zuko takes it without looking at her.

“They’ll come,” he murmurs. Azula takes out a Juul and scoffs at the street.

“They’re barely even your friends. You just did a project with that obviously bisexual one half a semester ago.”

“He added me to the group chat,” Zuko whispers. It sounds stupid, even to him. A pathetic attempt to claim these people as his friends. These people who aren’t going to come save him. These people he desperately wanted to belong to.

“Yeah, I added Jin to the group chat, you see me hanging out with her?” Azula asks and exhales a puff of vapor. “If dad comes back and you’re still here, you’re gonna get round two.”

“I know.”

“So.” Azula grips his sore and bruised jaw and twists his face to look her in the eye. He winces and pulls away from her. “Either these ‘saviors’ get here in four minutes or I’m calling Iroh and he won’t get here in time. Your choice dum-dum.”

He’s quiet for a moment, a precious moment, and then stares down the road. “They’ll come.”

Azula scoffs. “Suit yourself,” she says and takes another puff. 

“How are you going to get out?” Zuko asks. Azula blows the vapor out and chuckles.

“I can leave whenever I want. Don’t worry about me. But when I leave, I’m taking dad down with me.”

“He’ll kill you if you aren’t careful.”

“Oh, Zu-Zu,” Azula sighs. “Dad would never hurt me.”

Zuko hangs his head. A hand comes up to scratch at the scar Ozai left him with three years ago. Now it seems like madness that he went home with the man after four weeks in the hospital. Beatings started up again as soon as he stepped foot in the house, dazed and still slightly feverish.

He swallows a gulp of minty saliva and winces as his ribs protest the movement. Azula scoffs again.

“You could smoke but not swallow?”

“Shut up,” he mumbles and glances at his phone. Not a single notification. Not that that’s unusual but it hurts more this time. Azula sighs and puts her Juul away.

“Well, that seems like it’s been about four minutes. I’ll call Iroh. You just...try not to die when dad gets back,” she says and stands up. A tear slides out of his right eye as Azula sways slightly on her feet with her phone up to her ear. He can hear Iroh’s muffled voice as he pulls out his own phone and adds a desperate  _ please _ to his message to Katara.

“... yeah I’m not sure, but dad broke his ankle so he can’t walk,” Azula says into the phone.

Zuko growls under his breath and punches the curb beside him. Azula sends him a worried look as she listens to Iroh. Zuko’s hands dig into his hair and he pulls as hard as he can. His stomach churns and he wants to vomit.

“Dad went off somewhere but that was like forty minutes ago, he’ll be back any second,” Azula says and puts a hand on his shoulder.

Now Zuko growls. Some horrid sound between a sob and a groan forces its way out of his lips and tears start to fall.

He’s so stupid.

So, so stupid.

How could he let himself think they were his friends?

How did he manage to fool himself like that?

They weren’t coming and he was going to be lucky if he made it out of this house alive tonight.

“... I know, I know, just please hurry,” Azula’s voice says. There’s a beep and both of Azula’s hands find themselves on his shoulders. “He’s coming.”

“It won’t matter!” Zuko sobs and punches his temple in fury.

“Hey, hey. We don’t know about dad, it might be okay,” Azula tries and Zuko screams into his hands. “I’ll come with you, Zu-zu, you don’t have to-” 

She breaks off at Zuko’s sobs when a car pulls up.

“Zula, help me! Help me!” Zuko sobs and grabs his sister’s hand.

“It’s not-”

“Zuko?” He knows that voice. That’s-

“Are you Sokka?” Azula asks. Zuko looks up and sees Sokka’s darkened silhouette standing in front of him. “Where the fuck have you been? Our dad’s gonna be here any second-”

“I know, I’m sorry. Kat and I were at our Grandma’s house, it’s about an hour away from here. We left as soon as we got the message.”

Zuko doesn’t have it in him to be ashamed of holding his hand out to Sokka. Sokka smiles sadly at him and helps him to his feet. His strong arm wraps around Zuko’s waist and Zuko leans his head on Sokka’s shoulder.

“You couldn’t have messaged him to say you were on the way?” Azula demands with her hands on her hips.

“We tried. Bad signal but it might have-” Zuko’s phone pinging interrupts Sokka’s sentence. Azula picks it up, reads the message, hums, and slips it into Zuko’s hoodie pocket.

“Fine. You still have my number?”

“I have Ty Lee’s.”

“Tell her to text you my number. Our uncle is coming for, well me now. I’ll tell you when to bring him to Iroh’s.”

“Okay, cool. You’ll be okay here for however long it takes for your uncle to get here?”

“I’ll be fine,” Azula says. “Just get him out of here  _ now _ .”

Sokka salutes and leads Zuko to a beat-up old Toyota with Katara in the driver’s seat and Aang in the passenger’s. Sokka gentles him into the backseat and Zuko leans his head back against the headrest.

“Hey, Zuko!” Aang says, somehow cheerful and melancholy at the same time.

“Hi,” Zuko breathes out and Katara meets his eyes in the rearview mirror as Sokka gets in the car.

“Tell me to slow down if you’re hurting, okay?” Katara says. He nods and the car starts rolling. Sokka’s warm and calloused hand takes his and squeezes.

“You’re safe now. We got you,” he says softly. Zuko shuts his eyes and lets the tears silently fall.

“Thank you,” he whispers.

“Sorry we took so long,” Sokka says and scoots closer to hold him up and give his bruised ribs a break.

“You came,” Zuko murmurs. “All that matters.”

“We’ll always be here for you,” Sokka says. “Always.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a slut for Pre-Zukka.  
> Hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
